Most of what I’ve posted from David in the past has been items that were naturally gluten-free (which is something I almost always prefer), but this is the first time I’ve seen one of his dessert recipes adapted to be gluten-free. I love the fact that he makes these from ingredients that most people have on hand and that he shares his trials and errors with us in order to help come up with the perfect brownie. Give these a try, I’m pretty sure you’ll be pleased.

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“One of the nifty things about a blog is that you can easily revisit recipes and make revisions, while learning more about baking, and sharing those discoveries, as you go. When I wrote Ready for Dessert, I was able to update my favorite recipes, many created over a decade ago, and I was able to incorporate the changes I’d made over the years.

Recently I got a message from David Leite about a brownie recipe from the book, and I decided to remake it to answer his questions. As I looked over the ingredient list, I decided to give a flourless version a try, swapping out the flour with a mixture of corn starch and unsweetened cocoa powder. And the result? A super-moist, fudgy brownie that used ingredients that most people already have on hand, which is another hallmark of a great brownie recipe…”

Read the full post & get the recipe »

Reading this post from David Lebovitz (an American food blogger living in Paris), I really long for my days in France. While it’s possible to have a great BBQ right here in California (or anywhere for that matter), there really is nothing like sitting in the French countryside eating and drinking with friends — it’s an experience that I think should be at the top of anybody’s “must do” list.

One thing in particular that David said, “One of the things that we Americans do right is grilling…” is so so true. I was just having this exact same conversation with a French friend of mine last week, and it’s something that nearly everyone that I mention this to will agree with. During my last trip to France, my friends there couldn’t believe what I would throw on the grill — they never think to grill fresh vegetables — I’m not sure if it’s considered uncouth or just strange — but I will tell you this, they certainly love it once they’ve tried it (even though they may not want to admit it).

I’m just now remembering my reason for this post — take a look at David’s Grapefruit Campari Sorbet. It really is the perfect ending to an early spring picnic or BBQ.  While I haven’t tried this exact recipe, I have had a few different Campari sorbets, but this one with the pink grapefruit looks absolutely beautiful, refreshing, and delicious.

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“…Once home, I squeezed the copious juice out of them (and if there’s anything more satisfying to juice than juice-rich grapefruits, I don’t know what it is) and turned it into a refreshing sorbet with a splash of colorful, tart, Campari.

To celebrate being able to be outside without hat, gloves and scarves, I was invited to a bbq in the backyard of some friend’s house just outside of Paris. Parisians are kind of like New Yorkers, who swear up and down that they couldn’t – and wouldn’t – live anywhere else…”

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More from the food blogger that I’m currently the most jealous of, David Lebovitz (an American food blogger living in Paris). This one for a dandelion pesto makes my mouth water. I can eat pesto with just about anything, but paired with crackers or a piece of toast and I’m in heaven.

If  you haven’t read David’s blog yet, do yourself a favor and check it out. It’s all very informative as well as entertaining. While he doesn’t focus on gluten-free recipes, he has a fair number of them that are naturally gluten-free like this one.

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“I’m one of those people that really craves bitter greens. And France is a funny place because on one hand, radicchio (trevise), frisée, arugula, and Belgian endive are found easily. The more sturdy greens – like kale and broccoli rabe, are frequently absent, although I did recently hear an Italian vendor at the market explaining to a baffled patron what broccoli raab was. He told her it was “…the foie gras of Portugal”, which wasn’t quite how I would phrase it, but I admired how he customized his sales technique appropriate to his clientele.

One green that does turn up from time to time are dandelion greens. So whenever I see them, I scoop up as many as possible to bring home and sauté the chopped leaves with slices of fresh garlic, then toss them with whole wheat pasta, olive oil, and red chile flakes. Then I top the bowl with chunks of feta cheese and dive in…”

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David Lebovitz (an American food blogger living in Paris) has recreated one of my favorite childhood snack foods, Nutella. I’m always a firm believer in homemade being better than store-bought and this is yet another example of why I feel this way. Since this was posted on David’s site a few days ago, I’ve made this for my kids and all of them absolutely loved it. Spread this on some gluten-free bread from your bread machine and both you and your kids will be smiling ear-to-ear. (If absolutely necessary, you can use some of the better store bought gluten-free bread like Udi’s, Rudi’s, French Meadow Bakery, or Genius in the UK — there I go contradicting myself with the whole store-bought vs. homemade argument).

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“As I’ve come to believe, it’s as if they’ve implanted something in my brain so stores in Paris can know what I’m out of so that when I get there, they can be sure to not have it in stock. So I went to G. Detou (which translates in French as “I have everything”, which they normally do) to pick up hazelnuts to try a recipe for World Nutella Day from the Encyclopédie du Chocolat that landed on my doorstep. Of course, they had every kind of nut and seed crammed onto their shelves; almonds, cashews, pecans, pine nuts, peanuts, pumpkin seeds, Brazil nuts, four kinds of pistachios, and even Macadamia nuts. They indeed have everything—except the one thing that I wanted: hazelnuts…”

Read the full post & get the recipe »

Another non-GF blogger that I follow religiously is David Lebovitz. He’s truly one of the rock stars of the food blogging world. An American living in Paris writing about food — I’d take that job. While not all of his recipes are gluten-free, many of them are. You can almost guarantee that anything on his site is going to be absolutely amazing.

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“At first you might raise an eyebrow at using cheese as a base for a sweet soufflé. But somehow the mixture magically transforms into something cheesecake-like in flavor, yet much more intriguing. Make sure you use fresh goat cheese. Aged goat cheese, that which has a rind, is likely going to be too strong and for this soufflé. I do take a shortcut and use cream cheese as a base, so I don’t need to make a batch of pastry cream, which is often used as a base for dessert soufflés. When I was teaching the classes, I said at one, “I’m not a fan of sweet things”, which brought a chuckle from the guests. But I’m not big on overloading things with sugar and often prefer desserts with tang and tartness.”

Read the full post & get the recipe »

le moulin de Monts — Home for the Summer

As with any trip I take, one of the first places I like to visit is a local supermarket — in this case, it’s the Super U in Monts. While my French language skills are not all that great, I do have a good grasp on which items on a packages list of ingredients to avoid and when traveling I try to stick with as much fresh food as possible. The selection of packaged food hasn’t been that great and I am indeed sticking to the fruits, vegetables, beans, meat, dairy, etc. It’s really not a bad way to eat, but I do miss the convenience of an occasional gluten-free packaged snack.

Watching my wife enjoy a baguette (or my kids with a pain au chocolat) from the local boulangerie can be a little envy-inducing, but I’m happy that they’re able to enjoy some of France’s most beloved staples. I’ve yet to find a gluten-free boulangerie or even a gluten-free baguette for that matter. I know they exist, but I just haven’t found them yet. There are a couple of local restaurants here in the village and most have been very friendly and accommodating and I have had positive experiences all the way through. I’ll be doing some individual reviews of these after another visit or two.

We’ll be heading to Paris in July and I know there are some great choices there with stores like Naturalia and La Vie Claire. There’s also a 100% gluten-free restaurant that I can’t wait to try, Des si & Des mets.  We’ll be moving north toward Brittany and Normandy from there and will stop at numerous places along the way. I’m hoping by the end of this trip to have some very positive things to say about living sans gluten in France — I’m keeping my fingers crossed.